New Venue (to me) for Glass Bead Making!

Since I took my first class in lamp work glass bead making at William Holland, I wanted continue this art closer to home.  I discovered the NCSU Crafts Center at their recent Open House and was blown away with the facility - they had so many studios, pottery, lapidary, glass, photography, wood working, fiber!

One of the torches in the glass studio

Pottery studio

Fiber studio - floor looms

Lapidary studio

I was lucky to get a spot in the fall semester class since they open the classes to NCSU students first and then the public has a shot at any open slots.  Classes are small, usually 6 to 8 students per session.  I am now in the 6 week session for beginners - yes, I took a class earlier but wanted to get a different perspective from another instructor.  I am learning so much in addition to the actual making of glass beads, especially with glass types, torches, and kilns.


Here are a few of my finished bead sets.

Practicing swirls to create beach focal

Adding twistie stringers on base

Practice on dot control

More twisties with mutliple colors encased in clear glass

More practice with stringer control and swirls

It is SO great to have such fantastic venues available to practice your art!

New Skill - Lampwork Glass Beads

 

 

I keep taking classes and workshops to enhance or update my jewelry making skills.  The latest course I took was in a totally new area - making beautiful beads, melting glass rods with a torch!  I took a week long class at William Holland School of Lapidary.  My friends in the Jewelry Artists Retreat (JAR) group turned me on to this great learning resource.

Lampwork beads may soon be my newest passion!

Check out more photos of my first beads on my Facebook photo album.

Classes, Workshops Galore!

I am on a fast-track to expand my metal fabrication skills.  If you follow me on Facebook, you may have noticed that I am like the energizer bunny - getting more and more techniques under my belt!  I am so thankful that I have so many local resources available to me!


This year I made a point to do fewer arts and crafts shows to focus on learning and to find out what technique or techniques are a good fit.  It's been a year and half since I took my first class in metal fabrication at Pullen Arts Center in Raleigh.

My first fabricated pendant

Back of pendant

My first pair of earrings

Since then I have learned:

• how to use of the torch, solder, sawing, filing, and bezel setting with Megan Clark at Pullen Arts
• how to use the hydraulic press to create dimensional forms with Betty McKim - made a locket with rivets
• how to embellishment metals with Kathryn Osgood - etching on brass to make embossing plates to transfer designs to metal and using keum boo to add a pop of gold to silver
• about various casting techniques (broom stick, water, rock salt, cuttlebone) from a group of wonderful women at the Jewelry Artists Retreat (JAR) @ Lake Gaston, NC
• how to flush set faceted stones, again with Megan Clark
• how to make rings with tim lazure - completed 2 rings that I really, really love
• how to add alternate colors on metal with Kathryn Osgood - including patinas and colored resin
• how to tube set a faceted stone and fold form copper at a spring mini-retreat in the NC mountains with Debora (member of JAR) and Kimberly
• how to chase & repousse on copper and silver with the Italian artist Davide Bigazzi, Menlo Park, CA
• how to fuse enameling to copper with Julie Brooks

Next week I will be at William Holland School of Lapidary to learn how to make lampwork glass beads.  It was actually my 3rd choice since my 1st (Silver II: Forging) and 2nd (Enameling) choices were at maximum!  Four other members of JAR will be there, too - we are going to have a blast!